


Tokyo Taisho, 1919

by lalois



Category: Arashi (Band), Kanjani8 (Band), NewS (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst and Romance, Awkward Tension, Best Friends, Cabarets, Chaptered, Character Development, Crossdressing, Dancing and Singing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Falling In Love, Family Bonding, First Meetings, Flirting, Gender Issues, Genderbending, Genderfluid, Genderplay, Genderqueer, Introspection, M/M, Male Friendship, Male Homosexuality, POV First Person, Soulmates, Tokyo (City), Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2020-07-24 18:45:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20019259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalois/pseuds/lalois
Summary: Early twenties, Osaka/Tokyo. Talented cloth merchant Ryo gets invited in Tokyo by his longtime childhood friend Jun, who is running a very peculiar cabaret. There, he'll get to know a whole new world.





	1. Tokyo Station

**Author's Note:**

> Details about the prompt at the end of the chapters.  
> Translated from Italian, unbeta-ed.  
> Other pairings will be added later on.

Ryo turned over the pages of Jun's letter in his hands once again; during the long journey with the train bound for Tokyo, he had all the time to think back at the boyhood spent in the so-called new capital city.  
  
He was born in Osaka from parents that had later moved to Tokyo seeking fortune: with the country opening up to the western world outside, the industrial revolution and the excitement it brought, both were some undeniable reality already, however more tangible in Tokyo than elsewhere.  
  
Tokyo. There Ryo had grown up with a good education, and that was also where Matsumoto Jun had become his best friend at elementary school first, and then also at junior high and high school.  
Alike they were not: shy though stubborn as he was, if compared to the self-confidence and curiosity of Jun's personality, they could not be any more different. They had learnt together, though, how the world was changing at amazing speed, right before their own eyes.  
  
Ryo looked up from Jun's fancy handwriting, and peered out of the window, as the scenery of endless rice fields at the feet of Fuji-san blurred out, over the curtain of his own memories, even.  
  
He had strongly wished to go back home, to Osaka, in order to help out at the nice textile company his father had in the meantime established and expand its business there; but in doing so, he had never got to see Jun again.

  
They had exchanged contacts, of course; they had promised it to each other, never to lose keeping in touch, somehow. “Nantonaku”.  
Life takes always over, though, and as it happens way too frequently, business and frenzy routines had made time spent for friendship fade away; at least until that letter arrived, a few months earlier.  
  
Unexpected as it was, in such epistle his childhood friend courteously asked him to invite him to Tokyo and have him as his guest in his club.  
His need of having to temporarily move to Tokyo in order to follow some business that strictly required his presence in the capital city had done the rest.  
  
Ryo smiled between himself.  
He wondered whether meeting his friend after so many years would have felt natural and simple. He had never been truly good at showing his emotions but maybe Jun, as the faithful friend he had been, would not have cared that much.  
  
Several lines of his letter let on some pride and some kind of residual modesty in describing his activity, though Ryo could not manage to grasp what exactly Jun meant with his "alternative place being all the rage" definition.  
Such letter ended with Jun writing he was sure he would have appreciated the place, and that he looked forward to introducing him to the members of his team.  
  
So he started making a fortune as well, Ryo thought.  
Not that he had ever had doubts about it. Jun had been a smart, witty and attractive young man; he must have definitely grown into a rather fine adult man by that time.   
  
Someone who had some special capability for conducting business, far better than him. For his part, Ryo had been living a pretty well-off life for a few years already, however sure as he was that he had not strived enough to be worth it yet.  
  
The train slowed down its run until it stopped completely at the station, and Ryo started getting ready to get out of it.  
He looked up and around himself, quite dazed at the sight of the pavilions on the ceilings, and his bewilderment only grew once he had stepped out of Shimbashi Station: where had the station he remembered when he had left the Capital gone? Where had Tokyo Central Station gone?  
Before his astonished eyes there was a modern building made up of blinding red bricks and adorned with exotic pavilions, of probably western nature.  
  
While leading through the long avenue with suspiciously raised brows, Ryo got persuaded that there was something wrong with it: he was not so sure of being in Shimbashi anymore, however equally sure that witnessing so many people going in and out of the station could not be seen in any other place in the whole world, but Tokyo itself.  
  
_"I had to expect that from you_ ," a voice behind him suddenly said, a sigh that had him turn abruptly.  
Jun was staring bemused at him.  
  
_"One cannot even try to do you the kind favour to fetch you at the tracks of the station that no, oh no, you must set off on your own in the meantime!"_  
Ryo grinned with embarrassment.   
  
Jun was now a young fine man dressed according to the Taisho western taste; at the same time, he was identical to the guy he had last seen so long ago, with his charming smile and his educated manners. As expected from him, he immediately put a stop to the impatience of pleasantries to welcome him with his typical irony, his own way.  
  
Ryo held out his hand, offering it following the western manner, and Jun narrowed his eyes before returning the gesture and shaking it strongly.  
_"You're still pretty educated, I see,_ " he told him.  
_"I didn't want to look any bad to your very eyes especially_ ," Ryo smiled, " _even though I was not so sure anymore I could manage to arrive at your place without any delay. This does not seem Shimbashi at all to me, I don't honestly understand where we are..."_

  
"The old Shimbashi Station in Shiodome closed down five years ago," Jun said. " _Now all the trains with passengers do arrive here at Marunouchi, right next to the Imperial Palace. Shimbashi is still operating for delivering goods and materials, though. I do also happen to stroll down there every now and then for work, sometimes."_  
  
"I guess this might not be the only part about Tokyo having gone through major changes, then," Ryo assumed, looking around.  
_"Tokyo is running fast_ ," Jun confirmed him, _"but I do hope we will have some time to actually talk about it thoroughly, my friend, should you offer me some of your free moments once freed from your business engagements. Now the time has come for us to let you put your luggage down and offer you some rest after your long journey."_  
  
_"I am not tired at all,"_ Ryo protested. " _The hotel can wait."_  
_"Which hotel are you talking about?"_

  
_"I have had a room reserved at the Teikoku Hotel, near the Imperial Palace."_  
_"Oh, so you do mean the Imperial Hotel? Awesome taste, but please do consider your reservation canceled starting from now,_ " Jun mumbled, nodding distractely.  
  
" _What do you mean?"_  
_"You will be my guest, of course. I reckon the meaning was clear in the letter I had sent you. I cannot grant you as much luxury as the Imperial rooms, but my guest room will be entirely and completely at your disposal for all the time you'll be staying here in Tokyo."_

  
_"But-"_  
_"Please don't worry about the reservation, the Baron is a dear client of mine and he will agree that the hospitality granted to a friend is the first rule a gentleman has to abide."_  
  
_"The Baron... you mean, the owner of the hotel_?" Ryo asked, raising an eyebrow.  
" _Certainly."_

  
_"Are you really sure_ _we can arrange things like this? I don't intend to cause you inconvenience in any way."_  
_"No inconvenience at all. You're my guest, Ryo. Please allow me to do this for you, at leas_ t."  
Ryo opened in a broad smile, and shook his head helplessly.  
  
_"Let it be then... I owe you, my friend."_  
"Excellent! And now please, you ought to take some rest," Jun told him, patting him strongly on one shoulder.  
" _Oh please, no, not now, Jun! All I did while in the train was merely sitting there, all the time. If you let me, I'd love to become more confident with the neighborhood of the city again, before going to have some rest. I'd love to see Tokyo, honestly. I'd really love to."_  
  
"I shall accompany you, then," Jun said.  
" _You shall not."_  
_"I do."_  
_"But I do not-"_  
_"Ryo, it's decided already_ ," Jun cut him off. " _Please just give me some time to inform the girls as soon as we reach my place."_  
  
Ryo blinked.  
_"... girls?"_  
"Sure, my girls," Jun replied with a half-naughty smile.  
  
Ryo blushed. Jun was undoubtedly a courteous and good-looking gentleman, but what to think about this mention of maidens, Ryo did not know. He was equally sure he did not mean to question his friend about that now, right after having reunited with him after such a long separation; Jun's gaze was piercing straight into him, though.  
  
_"You are curious, aren't you?"_  
"I'm not curious. It's just... well, I don't know how to say... I'm just a bit taken aback, I guess," Ryo said, nodding almost between himself.  
  
_"You're dying from curiosity,"_ Jun giggled, " _and you're right being so interested, because I cannot wait to introduce them all to you."_  
"To this extent, you need not..." Ryo mumbled low. Not wishing to be impolite at all, he quickly corrected himself: "I _mean, I would be delighted to meet them, but only if you reckon that this could not cause you a nuisance... I mean..."_  
  
Jun giggled again.  
" _You are still the very same adorable shy guy you were back then."_  
  
He bent until he could whisper to his friend words he spelled out slowly just for him: " _I can promise you my Tokyo will delight you. I am definitely sure about it."_  
  
Ryo did not dare remark in any way, and merely nodded with a slightly nervous smile.  
There was something he remembered still very well about their common past: no matter what, Jun had always been right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Historical notes:  
> 0\. “nantonaku” means “somehow”, “some way or another” in Japanese.  
> 1\. Taisho: “Era of Great Justice”, that took place in Japan between 1912 and 1926. This story takes place in 1919, 8th Taisho year, for business/job reasons stated in the story.  
> 2\. Tokyo Station and Shimbashi: the first railway connecting Tokyo with other places in Japan was in the Shimbashi / Shiodome area. That was where all the trains coming from outside stopped by, and that were later on redirected in Tokyo Central Station (the only one that right now is a shinkansen station, together with the Shinagawa one) after Shimbashi dismissal, as mentioned in the story.  
> Tokyo Station lies in the true heart of Tokyo, in the Marunouchi area, right next to the Imperial Palace. Today it does still look like it did 100 years ago.  
> 2\. Teikoku Hotel / Imperial Hotel: a very high-profile hotel still existing nowadays (however in a different building and also enlarged later on), right next to the Imperial Palace. In 1919 the original one got burnt right when the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright was about to work on its new building. The whole hotel opened once again only some months later.


	2. The Okiyama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taisho entrepreneur Matsumoto Jun shows his workplace to his longtime friend Nishikido Ryo, introducing him also to his cabaret "girls".

_Ryo_  
  
Tokyo is big indeed. It's huge and unrecognizable, nevertheless magnificent.  
  
This city is increasing its speed to mark the pace of the changing environment; while I am here, I can easily determine how the things that happen in Tokyo reverberate like a giant wave on the whole country of Japan. Maybe the farmers outside the city cannot grasp it yet, but it's happening already.  
  
I left Tokyo to go back to my native Osaka, and I do not wonder whether Jun might have never stopped asking himself the reason why.  
  
Tokyo is a living heart, indeed.  
It's rather difficult not coming to love Tokyo, and quite deeply, also.  
  
Once we have left my luggage at Jun's place, we take a stroll until we reach the Nihonbashi bridge, unchanged from when I had left it in 1911, brand new and freshly built back then. We do take our time at Tsukiji fish market and we talk for long, walking through the amazing gardens in Hama-Rikyu first, and those surrounding the Imperial Palace next. We go further down, visiting the Zojoji temple, and then up in Jimbocho neighborhood, before coming back to explore a little bit of Asakusa.  
  
I am not tired, not even when our tour is over, but Jun decides it's right the time for me to get introduced to his place, the Okiyama; he doesn't want to explain it to me in any other way. He wants me to see with my very eyes.  
  
It's a spacious building, with a sign, -he explains to me- having been penned in elaborated western fonts; to one side outside there is private access to the ambiances when Jun lives, and my friend does send me upstairs, in the room he wishes me to appropriate for myself.  
  
 _"Welcome to Tokyo, Ryo_ ," I tell myself once I've been left alone.  
  
I look outside the window and realize once more how it's so much different from Osaka, here: boulevards in Asakusa do lean towards infinity already. Jun merely started giggling when I told him how vibrant I had now found the capital city.  
  
He has confirmed me that the streets are swarming with people starting from the very first hours in the morning, and the buzz does not cease until very late in the night. I cannot wait to see that with my very own eyes, to tell the truth.  
  
When Jun accompanies me inside his club, I am bewildered and left with my mouth open.  
It is an incredible mélange of elements taken from the Japanese traditional culture with some other bizarre details taken from a culture that did not belong to our world until maybe a decade ago. There are several paintings hanging from the walls, and Jun explains me they all come from Europe.  
  
 _"They're not worth that much money, their authors are not famous_ ," he tells me shrugging. " _At the beginning I had put them there and I meant to replace them soon with more valuable ones as soon as the business would have started being nice enough; but then our clients got particularly fond of them, and so I didn't feel like replacing them anymore."_  
  
I do notice there are also several pieces of stained glass here and there, and huge mirrors that makes the main hall overflow with interesting sparkles and reflections; the lights do look soft, however, and the whole atmosphere is quiet and calm.  
When I do ask him for which purpose the whole stage opposite the entrance has been placed, Jun bursts out laughing.  
  
 _"That's where the girls perform, of course. It's the true big heart of this place_ ," he goes on, grinning merrily when he notices my furrow. He then disappears in the corridor, and when he's back he's being preceded by a group of maidens wearing elaborate kimonos, bowing in front of me.  
  
 _"I have the honour today of introducing you all to a very special person, besides being also a talented cloth merchant. Nishikido-san is a dearest friend coming straight from Osaka, and he will stop by our place for a while. Please do treat him nicely, okay_?" he concludes, winking at me.  
  
When the women do raise up from a second curtsy and I meet their faces, I do understand the flick of amusement flashed on my friend's face.  
They're no girls at all. It's a group of men of extraordinary beauty I have before my eyes, dressed up to resemble some elegant geisha or, more probably, onnagata.  
  
I blink, vaguely perplexed, because I do still not understand. We are not at the Kabuki Theatre now; then why are these people here?  
  
Jun intercepts my bewilderment and does probably also read into my silence, as I try to avoid any awkward question; he beckons to them to move and go on stage, where they take position and then stop, waiting for further instructions.  
  
Jun courteously takes my arm and invites me to sit down in the first row of seats, before the stage. Then, a dance begins.  
A dance that has me completely astounded.  
  
I was at a loss for words before this already; now, I do honestly not know where to get hold on some.  
I turn to face Jun, seeking for help.  
  
 _"I had this performance prepared especially for you_ ," he explains me with a seraphic smile. "I _knew you needn't that many words, and that you would have immediately grasped why I do utterly love what I do here in Tokyo."  
"It was... incredible_," I babble slightly confused, turning towards the group. " _It has been... whoah."_  
  
One of the -so-called- maidens smiles enthusiastically at me, only to receive a severe reprimand look from one of her colleagues, the one with porcelain white skin. It's an almost fleeting motion; enough to have me smile, though. I reckon Jun will have a lot to tell me about, because there's so much more than onnagata, here. And I'm very curious, now.  
  
 _"Can I introduce them to you? Under their stage name, of course."_  
I stand up from my seat and bow profusely at them.  
  
 _"Ai-chan plays the shamisen,_ " Jun begins, while a young man with a sweet smile and a beautiful light green robe bows in returns.  
He's wearing a light brown hair wig with a modern shoulder length hairstyle. I notice no-one of them wears Japanese style make-up. They have blushed eyes instead, and wear lipstick and long hair wigs set in different Twenties-style. The contrast with their geisha kimonos is huge and yet appealing.  
  
 _"Nina and Satoko do often dance together, they're inseparable,_ " Jun goes on while walking towards the couple of dancers before the group. I do not know whether I should think at them as men or women, but they do all seem rather at ease while Jun refers to them as girls.  
  
 _"Yoko is our porcelain white skin beauty_ ," he explains further, " _while I guess Chibichan might have a crush on you already, my dear friend."  
"Matsumoto-san, this, I cannot-"  
"Chibichan's smile is an incredible one indeed,_" I intervene, bowing again. She's petite and pretty in her robe, whose shades go from the faintest indigo to the darkest palettes of blue. I can see her blush under the heavy pink make-up.  
  
 _"Lastly, but no less important, I suggest you not to get enchanted by Yuuchan. Should that happen, you might risk not wishing to go back to Osaka anymore_ ," Jun concludes giggling softly, while the last unknown maiden looks at me with piercing eyes. She's undoubtedly very attractive, with long blond ringlets that suit particularly her doll-like face.  
  
 _"Diva is not here right now, of course. She's getting ready for the show expected for tonight_ ," Jun tells me then, " _where there's already a reserved seat for you, in the front row. Of course."  
  
"Diva?_" I foolishly repeat.  
 _"Sure, Diva, you heard right. She's the reason why this club gained such fame through the time,_ " Jun explains me, with dreamy eyes.  
  
When we do take leave of the maidens and we dwell on talking for long in private in Jun's adjacent bureau, he mentions something more; how the idea struck him after re-uniting with university fellow friend Ninomiya, sometime after finishing his studies. He also tells me how he deeply wished to help him and put to good use his own passion for art and modern shows at the same time. He promises telling me further about this cabaret club in the next few days, as soon as my business will allow me to.  
  
I do leave the Okiyama before the night falls, and that is when a person I do not recognize appears on the threshold, dressed in particularly sumptuous clothes. Long dark brown curls do frame a face with irregular yet very fine features. I guess it's another guy, the one I'm having before my eyes. What's more, a quite tall one.  
  
Jun swiftly ensures taking some cumbersome furoshiki and a magnificent, folded brocade from the hands of such young man; there's a moment, then, when our eyes do meet.  
Deep within such unbreakable gaze, it's as if myriads of twinkles are flickering there; a thousand sparkles I cannot seem to apprehend thoroughly. I quickly look away, quite shaken by those mysterious irises.  
  
 _"Diva, he's my good friend Ryo, the cloth merchant Nishikido-san. Ryo, you're being introduced to Diva. Our stupendous star_."  
He -or, in other words, she- bows courteously at me, without a word. She gets past me then, and Jun accompanies her inside, greeting me bye once again.  
  
I leave the Okiyama right next, not before having promised Jun I will be back soon. I had thought about going to the Senso-ji temple for a brief visit, to pray for my business here, but the truth is I now need to walk on my own for a little while.  
I need to shake off myself the sensation that those eyes left upon me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Onnagata (or Oyama): men that play women's roles in kabuki stories.  
> 2\. Shamisen: a 3-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument, often played by geisha  
> 3\. Furoshiki: a traditional square wrapping cloth used to transport clothes, gifts or other goods.  
> 4\. About the girls: Ai-chan is Aiba Masaki, Nina and Satoko are Nino and Ohno (Arashi), Yoko is Yokoyama Yuu, Chibichan is Yasuda Shota (Kanjani8, from an anecdote of when Ohkura once called him so) and Yuuchan is Tegoshi Yuya (NEWS). Diva is -of course- Ohkura Tadayoshi (Kanjani8).  
> 5\. All the Tokyo tourist spot mentioned in the chapter do still exist nowadays, apart for the Tsukiji Fish Market that recently moved to Toyosu: the beautiful Nihonbashi stone bridge in the district that now bears the same name, the Hama-Rikyu gardens and the Imperial Palace ones are still there, in the heart of Tokyo.  
> The Zojoji temple is the Buddhist one beside the Tokyo Tower in Minato district (in 1919 the tower had not been built yet!), while Jimbocho is a small district right above the Imperial Palace, in the Kanda area, famous for being Tokyo's book town, very close to several universities.  
> In Asakusa we do find the Sensoji temple with its impressive Kaminarimon entrance and the Nakamise dori; it's the oldest temple in Tokyo, more than 1000 years old.


	3. A story in Asakusa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night talk between oldtime friends Ryo and Jun

_Jun_  
  
I grin at seeing my open-mouthed friend, again.  
  
I've always adored his way of being simply unable to conceal his emotions, and to be honest I feared that this side of Ryo's personality would make it hard for him sooner or later, especially as for what business is concerned. He's also a man gifted with undeniable talent, though, and that is why I have been sincerely pleased to see him in such good shape, after such long time.  
  
I'd love him to decide to stay in Tokyo, of course; I'd like him to become, other than a unique friend, a trustworthy supplier for the clothes of my girls' kimonos as well, should he find the whole thing endearing for him also.  
I would not even dare propose such thing to him, to tell the truth, given the deep friendship existing between us; but I am also quite aware of the fact that it would be pretty difficult to find a person more fair than him, both in the whole world and in the trade area.  
  
Everyone thinks more at flaunting each other's wealth, rather than think thoroughly at one's education.  
  
That is why I do believe in a place like the Okiyama.  
  
That is why I am also slightly debated at the idea of talking to Ryo about business; I don't want him to think I invited him over for this reason. If I wanted him here, it's to enjoy his quiet company and his silent approval about the people I gathered in here.  
  
That is why I'm bemused at the enthusiasm he reveals in the vaguely embarrassed smile he addresses me with, when the girls on stage do manoeuvre a particularly quick and fast dance; he's bewildered when he hears them singing.  
  
He's undecipherable when Diva appears on stage, in her gold and green brocade, and starts out with her performance.  
  
I admit being particularly proud of her, who incidentally comes from the Kansai region; just like Ryo is, though I have yet to tell him.  
Her singing makes people tremble inside; her graceful, stunning, sensual movements make people unable to simply dare looking away from the stage.  
  
She is the very same one mentioning some rather bizarre happening, right after the last show, when I do compliment all the girls for the excellent outcome of their new dance.  
  
 _"Matsumoto-san, I did fail being up to the expectations_ ," Diva tells me in my bureau, where she motions for us to move to share a couple words in private. " _I do feel terribly distressed about such matter."  
  
"You must be joking, I swear,_" I reply, flashing her a huge smile. " _Applause have never been as unceasing as tonight. Nobody has been able to tear the gaze away from you all for the slightest moment_!"  
  
I do see her trying to bite a lip, and give up right afterwards. She does look hesitant.  
  
 _"Why are you so afraid of telling me what is troubling you?"  
  
"Because I... I do not wish to seem pretentious at all. I do understand the matter is about someone who is of great, when not of the greatest, value for you. I do not wish to put such person in a bad light at all."_  
  
I frown.  
" _You know that would never happen, anyway."  
"And still-"  
"Tadayoshi, please_," I retort in my lowest voice, pleading her. I know she does not stand hearing such a name; but I do also know it's the only psychological leverage I can exert on her to shake her.  
  
 _"The matter is... about Nishikido-san_ ," she eventually confesses me, lowering her voice to a mere whisper.  
" _When my eyes did meet his own ones, during my performance, he did... turn them away from me."_  
  
Oh. Was I was sitting beside him and I failed even noticing such an event? That is what happens when you do think about mere business and you should not, Jun... Serves you just right.  
  
" _Did such thing hurt you? Do you wish for me to ask him to offer you his apologies?"  
"Certainly not, I do not wish for such... it's just that... if someone like Nishikido-san did look away, it does mean I did not do well enough."  
  
"Or maybe you did even more than enough. Maybe your dance was such absolutely sublime performance that it managed striking even the incredible inner sensibility of a man of his stature,"_ I do suggest her. She does flutter the long eyelashes looking perplexed, but she can tell from my frank gaze that what I told her is what I do think for real.  
  
 _"In this instance I... I do beg your pardon. I might have been quite inappropriate."  
"I wouldn't say so. If you reckon this leaves you unsatisfied and does drive you on improving even more, I couldn't help but being so proud of you,_" I add then.  
  
She stares at me again; it's true, her pretty dark eyes can destabilize you, if only you get to realize, however vaguely, the complexity there is just beyond them. It's not for everyone, of course, and I am not surprised my friend already guessed that right.  
It's just such a shame that Diva cannot belong to anyone, and not even to herself.  
  
**  
  
Days and weeks do pass quickly by, and if it's true that Ryo is very busy handling his business relationships during the day, he never misses paying me homage by joining me at the Okiyama during the evening.  
  
It is a fact that such thing does flatter me.  
  
His proverbial discretion does not allow him to be one of those fashionable talkers this era is so proud of, especially in places like mine, but Ryo does manage to get himself noticed and appreciated without realizing it himself at all. After each of the performances my girls have on stage, it's a distinct pleasure seeing him being lavish with our regular clients through long and courteous disquisitions. They're all intrigued by his place of origin, whereabouts, his work, his good looks and his extremely polite manners.  
  
All the girls do have taken a liking to him, and he never denies them any compliment about the quality of their singing and dance, or the chromatic approach of their clothes. It's as if he's already become part of this family.  
I do adore, to say the least, that he's able to see so much, within all of them: that they are wonderful people, capable and talented ones, rather than mere seducers or even transvestites. Let alone people who failed at life, like each of them thought they had to be.  
  
Late in the evening, in the privacy of my office, I do compel Ryo to keep me company and have our tongues loosened through some perfect Yamazaki Single Malt Whiskey, before allowing myself to tell him some anecdote about my girls.  
  
" _Why do they work here_?" He asks me during one of his very first evenings spent in Tokyo. " _Please don't let me get misunderstood. Your classy style in handling this business is as impeccable as always. This place is awesome and they are all so cute, if I may dare saying so. But... well, it's some rather atypical job indeed. It's no Kabuki, however resembling such art a little. And I cannot even define them geishas despite being definitely no less fascinating._ "  
  
 _"Indeed_ ," I nod slowly. " _They do draw something from each of those arts, and that's something I also wanted to convey through the name of this place. Okiya, the cradle of geishas. Oyama, the onna-gatas. Fused in a single name, in a newborn identity. My dear Ryo, if only you knew how much I do love Kabuki_..." I do confess him sighing, and he smiles at me. " _I am crazy in love with that, and whenever I see my girls on the Okiyama stage recalling such art, however just briefly, I..."_ I shake my head, caught in a sudden emotion.  
  
 _"I think I can understand_ ," Ryo murmurs, _"one can definitely fall head over heels for it..."  
  
"Exactly. I do adore all the performance we're having here, and I do love that my girls can make more than one man definitely crazy for them. But into these private chambers at Okiyama, no carnal desire is permitted_," I do tell him. " _With maybe only a very few private exceptions I do prefer skimming over."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
"I have never dared asking Kazu-chan for the details, but it's no mystery that those two are bound to each other for life, and since forever."  
  
"Kazu-chan?_" Ryo asks, quite curious.  
  
" _Kazunari Ninomiya, that is to say Nino. We could say that everything started out of him; I met him during my last year at University, we attended some lessons together.  
  
He never had good grades, though. Once he was done with his education, he did not accept the job his father had recommended him for. He ran away from home and had Satoshi with him; Satoshi, that is to say our Satoko, has been his longtime inseparable childhood friend. They are unable to live far from each other. They both soon realized, though, that they were equally unable to survive through ordinary heavy jobs suited for men, the only ones they had found employment at. They have no physical strength, sadly.  
  
That was when they both ended up as prostitutes, dressing up as women in order not to risk being ever found out by relatives or such. It's outside a brothel in Yoshiwara I randomly stumbled upon them one day; I happened to be there for a delivery nearby, as I was asked by my father.  
  
When I spotted and recognized them... well, you can tell I was not exactly happy, at first. But the whole thing kept bugging me for long; I kept thinking how Nino that day had improvised some dancing before my eyes, in order to not have me grieved. He had Satoshi, he had told me, and just by having him by his side, he could overcome everything and be happy whenever the place, he had said.  
But I did firmly believe he deserved way better than such world_."  
  
I take a deep sip of my Whiskey, allowing Ryo the time to ponder my words.  
  
 _"By helping out my father with his job, by supervising his busboys delivering goods in whatever the mostly oddly assorted corners in Tokyo, I have had the chance of getting to see many things; I made up my mind, asked my father a loan and went seeking Nino. I basically asked him to dance for me. Dance for me seriously. My father did not support my project, of course, but I asked him to bet on me instead. And in the end, I was proved quite right._ "  
  
Ryo smiles fondly at me, and I can glimpse complicity in his eyes. He pours me some more Whiskey, before making our glasses clink.  
  
" _Starting from that day on, other girls joined the Okiyama, mostly out of sheer chance.  
Yokoyama-kun, or Yoko as you know her, has been left by his wife because he was unable to make her a mother.  
Nino and Satoko brought him after finding him pretty drunk. He was just about to willingly trying to drown himself into the Arakawa river.  
  
Ai-chan is Aiba-kun. He's been one of the first clients here, and I've always wondered how did he even make it for the tickets, judging by his modest clothes. Until the day he came and begged me to let him dance on stage together with Nino and Satoko, given that he had run out of money and that he wanted to start out a new life.  
  
Yuuko's real name is Yuuya. She loves playing with her own identity: as petite, sensual and alluring as she is. Staying at the Okiyama to entertain the male guests seems to make her bloom one day after another. To her it's a matter of a thin balance between the game of seduction and the fact of being part of a world she did not belong to, after being born in very poor family of fishermen.  
  
Chibichan is Shota; he's an orphan guy that had been victim of diverse and horrible abuses by several boys ever since he left the childcare premise that had welcomed him until then. So much hatred... with everything starting out of him being genuinely unable to deny the sincere attraction he feels towards men; you know, the samurai era has gone and forever, and if such things were common norm back then, they're rather not anymore."_  
  
" _Each of the girls can however freely spend the night at your guests' private residences, should both of them feel like to, isn't that so?_ " Ryo asks me.  
  
 _"That's it,"_ I do confirm him, " _I wouldn't have expected less sagacity from you, my dear friend. Each of them has a room here upstairs. What we do collect through the performances on stage and what the clients do eat and drink at their tables -and believe me, it's no little amount-, it does allow me to provide them board and lodging, not to mention education.  
  
Every now and then I do call here a longtime friend of my father's, one of the most popular geishas that Yoshiwara had seen in the last decades; it's the very same woman that helped me revise and improve Nino's skills at singing and dancing.  
  
And should then any of my clients feel drawn by their performances to the point of asking them to share the night, why not? Sex itself is no part of this place, though, so they are completely free to adhere to the client's wish or not, to ask him a fee or nothing at all. They're free, independent people, and what they do get as income for their nights is just theirs; I do only ask them to report me quickly, should anyone behave rudely. And should that ever happen, such person would not be welcome nor allowed here ever again_."  
  
Ryo nods slowly. I do wonder the nature of his thoughts right now. More than once I caught it out of the corner of my eye, how Yuuchan e Chibichan take their time to carefully watch him more than due. Ryo is undoubtedly a very eligible young man. I am not sure whether he might concretely get to love them to such extent, though.  
  
" _You did not mention her,_ " he tells me then, after a quite long silence.  
  
" _Who?"  
"Diva._"  
  
A smug smile escapes my lips.  
  
 _"Diva. Obviously_ ," I murmur, nodding.  
  
 _"What do you mean with 'obviously'?_ " Ryo asks, narrowing his eyes.  
  
 _"Obviously... nothing_ ," I do mock him, as cunning as I can.  
  
 _"Jun...,_ " he sighs, furrowing in that particular way of his that makes him utterly adorable.  
" _Yes?"  
"I am not... interested,_" my dear friend grumbles low, vaguely embarrassed.  
  
 _"I noticed the way you do look at her_ ," I do provoke him. That is not true, of course. Everyone look at Diva in such way, which is why she spends several nights with our clients, and why there's a very long waiting list for those who wish to have the privilege of getting admitted into more private time with her, for longer than the mere cabaret time.  
  
Ryo might have been so far, however, the only one looking at her for real, without the impudence and the shallowness that many others have.  
  
 _"I am not interested, in such way_ ," he repeats. "T _rue, she does have a rather peculiar great charm. Her manners and movements are... different from your other girls. Please do not get me wrong, Jun, I am not to say they are different, for they are no less fascinating. But Diva is..._ " I can see Ryo cock his head to one side, as if searching for words. " _It is as if she were to come from a completely different world, somehow."  
  
"And that is exactly so, my friend, that's so. Should you ever get tired of selling cloth fabrics, please do remember me to introduce you to my dear policeman friend, deal?_" I mock him, " _you do have for sure some nice talent for noticing what everybody else doesn't."  
  
"Please don't be silly Jun, please_," Ryo chirps, while rubbing one cheek with the palm of his hand. For all the gods in Heaven, I should have him drunk more often. Or letting it not-so-accidentally slip with the girls. He's even more attractive, when he’s like this.  
  
 _"Diva does actually come from a very wealthy family with a noble heritage, it's different for her_ ," I do finally tell him, reverting back to some serious mood.  
  
Ryo blinks rather perplexed, as if the alcohol did suddenly stop making him numb.  
  
 _"Then... why is she here?"  
  
"I cannot tell you to such extent_," I murmur. " _I promised her never to tell anyone. Not even my very best friend_."  
  
Some vague delusion drains some colour from Ryo's cheeks.  
  
 _"Diva does also have a room here, but she rarely uses it, apart from using it as dressing room. She's the only one of the group living outside the Okiyama, in a small apartment belonging to her, not far from here_ ," I do reveal him, as if to make amends for what I told him before.  
" _I am nearly sure she gets requested by clients almost every night_ ," I go on. Ryo looks up, his eyes meet mine, and then he quickly looks away again.  
  
" _Some of them simply wish for her to keep them company at the Okiyama tables, after the show, as it frequently happens with the other girls. Maybe you wouldn't tell, but Diva loves the alcohol and can hold it pretty well_ ," I do confess with a naughty smile. " _She might be the one busy the most here, but she's also the only one coming first for rehearsals, not to mention handling certain delicate commissions with my customers on my behalf. They do love seeing her outside the stage, of course.  
  
You could maybe walk her until there sometimes, what do you reckon? This would also help you further broaden your acquaintances in the city,_" I do suggest in a velvety voice. _"And maybe, in exchange, I could intercede for you for having a night with her."  
  
"Jun, please do stop it. I do beg you_," Ryo insists, in a firm voice.  
  
" _Not to mention, you could directly avoid the waiting list."_  
  
Ryo stands suddenly up, turning on his heels and giving me the shoulders.  
Oh oh. Did I dare too much?  
  
 _"Should you get to wish for it, Ryo, there is seriously nothing to be ashamed about.._." I do assure him, sweeter than before. _"My girls are likeable ones. A lot, and I cannot help but being very happy about it. It would be just normal, should you-"  
  
"How would it exactly be normal, being attracted to a guy?_" he stammers in a voice louder than usual, avoiding to look at me. ".. _. I do apologize_ ," he quickly adds, sighing. " _Please do accept my apologies, Jun, I never dared sounding offensive at all. It's just that... "_ Ryo looks up at me straight, finally. He does look rather torn.  
  
 _"They are really, really fascinating. But I... I do not think I may..."  
"You may offer them your wonderful company?" _I do complete for him. Ryo sometimes does not realize about his own charm, seriously.  
  
 _"I have no intention of imposing them my company, let alone get them hurt in any way,_ " Ryo insists, with a rather torn expression.  
  
 _"Should you ever venture doing such thing, I will certainly beat you up with these very hands, you are being warned_ ," I reassure him vehemently, addressing him with a rather unusual scowl. " _No one can dare hurt them, for they all have suffered way too much during their life so far, I dare say."  
"I do agree with you."_  
  
" _That would never happen with you being involved, anyway_ ," I do sweetly insist. " _For you are an extremely gentleman one, my friend."  
"That is not true."  
  
"Honestly, Ryo, I cannot see where the problem lies. Are you already betrothed to someone, in Osaka?"  
"That is not, yet I-"  
"Good Heavens, you are not asked to get engaged here, Ryo! Let alone fall in love with them_!" I try to have him persuaded, vaguely exasperated, trying to find the way to his embarrassed candour. " _You just have to let yourself enjoy some pleasurable time when in their company, if you wish so. For all the time you will be spending here in Tokyo. Please do not feel ashamed of anything because -believe me- seeing you all get along so nicely can do nothing but make me feel extremely happy. Would you not do that for me, Ryo?"_  
  
"Do... what?" he grumbles, embarrassed and confused.  
  
I roll my eyes.  
  
 _"Please tell me, Jun, but as far as you're concerned, have you ever... with them..."  
"Never,_" I do confirm him, anticipating a question he is unable to ask, due to the excessive respect he grants to the one I am. I do stand on my feet as well, facing him straight. " _No, I have never seen any of them privately. And that is not because I would not fancy them.  
By knowing that there are beautiful guys under those garments, I am not bothered at all. And yet, given the kind of relationship that has been established between us, I do believe it would be rather disrespectful going further than that."  
  
"Indeed,_" Ryo murmurs while keeping his eyes into mine. " _Of course."  
  
"That is why you can do that in my place, my dear friend_," I conclude, winking at him while patting vigorously his shoulder.

  
 _"What the heck, Jun_!" He growls louder, embarrassed once again. " _You were talking very seriously up until a mere instants ago, while now-"_

 _  
"Goodnight, Ryo,_ " I do silence him, laughing. He seems wishful to retort, but then he gives up and retrieves his hat from the table.

  
 _"Goodnight, Jun,_ " he murmurs, leaving me with a fleeting smile, and some vague blush still fathomable on his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onnagata (or Oyama): men that play women's roles in kabuki stories.  
> Okiya: the place where the geishas found their 'home', the place that nurtured them to become talented performers, and where they had to come back to. The Okiya 'bought' them as young girls, took debts in order to make them grow up and teach them the arts, and the geisha had to repay them through their works later on.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. The prompt is an old 2013 one; back then I had no knowledge nor the necessary texts required to portray the historical background I wanted to depict in the story. In 2018 I finally did a lot of research and it was lovely, and my writing followed right next.  
> 2\. The original story is actually written in Italian (my mothertongue) in a somehow ‘historical’ formal speech; convey this aspect through its translation into English is pretty hard, I have to say, for the language is pretty different in handling the formal speech, and I’m no extensive connoisseur of old English language at all. I will further highlight this aspect also later on, just please however bear it always in mind when reading.  
> 3\. It’s my first time dealing profusely with writing about MatsuJun; his character is the one I based my whole story about, though, and I have to say he was rather amusing to write. I hope he won’t sound too OOC and if so, I do apologize in advance ^^’’  
> 4\. Main characters will be Ryo, MatsuJun and Ohkura, so the story will also be narrated through a (rotating) First Person POV starting from chapter 2. All the other K8 and Arashi members (and others) are going to appear.


End file.
